The Codebreaker (2021)

 

 

 

The Codebreaker is a documentary film which premiered on US television (PBS) in January 2021. 

 

It is an episode of the long-running program American Experience (season 33, episode 01). 

 

The topic is the life and career of Elizebeth Smith Friedman who played an important but virtually unknown role as a codebreaker.

 

Here is some basic information about this film:

 

** Writer and director: Ghana Gazit

** Narrator: Kate Burton

** Consultant: Jason Fagone

** Based on his biography The Woman Who Smashed Codes (2017)

** Run time: 52 minutes

 

Elizebeth Smith Friedman was born in 1892. She lived until 1980. In 1917, she married William Frederick Friedman who was born in 1891. He lived until 1969. They were married from 1917 until his death in 1969. 

 

Both husband and wife were interested in making and breaking secret codes. At first, it was a mostly and merely a hobby, but after a while it became a real and serious profession which they both pursued for many years and with significant results.

 

During the time of prohibition (1920-1933), large amounts of alcohol were transported to the US by smugglers who used a secret network of boats to move the banned items.

 

The smugglers communicated with each other via radio. They knew agents of the US Coast Guard were listening to their radio traffic, so they decided to use a secret code.

 

The Coast Guard did not know anything about secret codes, but they knew Elizebeth Friedman knew a lot about this topic, so they asked her to help. Elizebeth was hired by the Coast Guard to crack the secret code used by the smugglers. She cracked the code; in this way she helped the Coast Guard catch several smugglers and bring them to trial.

 

During World War Two (1939-1945), Elizebeth had a different opponent. She was hired by the US War Department to look into the secret network of German spies in Latin America. The German spies had two purposes:

 

** They wanted to find information that was useful to Nazi Germany

** They tried to persuade some Latin American governments to join the axis powers

 

The spies communicated with each other and with Germany via radio. Obviously, they used a secret code. Elizebeth studied their radio traffic and after a while she was able to crack the code.

 

Elizebeth was an important tool in the US arsenal, but her work was classified. Nobody could know what she was doing. She played a significant role in the US war effort, but this fact was unknown to the public for many years.

 

Several persons are interviewed in this film about the life and work of the first female cryptologist in US history. Here are the names in alphabetical order:

 

** Jason Fagone – a writer – the film is based on his biography published in 2017

** Amy Butler Greenfield – a historian

** David Hatch – a historian

** Vince Houghton – a historian – curator at the International Spy Museum in Washington, DC

** Barbara Osteika – a writer

** Rose Mary Sheldon – a writer

 

This film is interesting and informative. Most of what we see and hear is true. But not everything. I noticed one exception:

 

The capability and importance of the German network of spies in Latin America is exaggerated. As stated above, Nazi Germany had established a network of spies in Latin America, but in the film the significance of this network is exaggerated.

 

According to the film, the German network was active and efficient in 1941 and 1942. We are told that the network was able to obtain detailed information about allied ships sailing from America to Europe and to pass on this vital information to the captains of German U-boats cruising in the Atlantic Ocean.

 

According to the film, this is the reason why the captains of German U-boats were so successful and the reason why so many allied ships were lost in 1941 and the beginning of 1942. But the network was not as efficient and as comprehensive as we are led to believe; certainly not in 1941 and 1942.

 

Why were so many allied ships lost? 

 

There are several reasons:

 

** because they were not sailing in convoys

** because they were not protected by the US Navy

** because the US cities on the coast did not observe a blackout so the targets were easy to spot

** because the captains of the German U-boats were highly skilled

 

Elizebeth Friedman was able to identify the man who was in charge of the German network of spies in Latin America. He used the codename “Sargo.” His real name was Johannes Siegfried Becker. He worked for Nazi Germany. But his network of spies was not as great as we are led to believe in this film.

 

This is my only complaint.

 

Otherwise, I think it is a great film. 

 

If you are interested in the history of the modern world – in particular the topic of secret codes – this film is definitely something for you.

 

REFERENCES

 

** The Friedman Collection (2014) (PDF-file)

** A Life in Code: Pioneer Cryptanalyst Elizebeth Smith Friedman by G. Stuart Smith (2017)

** The Nuclear Spies: America’s Atomic Intelligence Operation Against Hitler and Stalin by Vince Houghton (2019)

 

*****

 

 

 Elizebeth Smith Friedman and her husband 

William Frederick Friedman

*****

 

A Life in Code: 

Pioneer Cryptanalyst Elizebeth Smith Friedman 

by G. Stuart Smith 

(2017)

*****